That actually is a pretty good likeness for Superman based on the pic you just posted. The ones they have online are crappy as all hell though.

That is because most of the online pictures are from his mid 40's, or even much older. Not really fair to compare to an age 25-35 Reeve. If you compare them both around their late 20's they had very similar faces.

The reason I like Lupus' face better for the role, is that he looked like Reeve but with the nose not being quite as narrow (always jumped out as a little odd to me), while still being very straight. When I say I think Lupus face looks better, I mean by like 1%. I still think Reeve had a great face for the role by all means an A+.

Peter Lupus is one of the few people the "Supposed" Superman curse 100% passed over. What his life was like is a 180 from the "curse".

Which states: If you play the strongest man on Earth, you will either die an untimely death or end up in the weakest position possible

1. Peter is now 77 years old, has been married to the same woman for 50 years, and is officially the strongest man on earth for his age.

2. At the age of 75 he set a new world Record for weight lifting endurance with 77,560 pounds worth of weight in under 25 minutes.

3. He also holds the Guinness World Record for being the oldest man alive to bench press over 300 pounds.

He competed as a bodybuilder in the early 1960's (pre-steroid era) Lupus looked huge shirtless, but in chlothes his mass would Disappear, which was good for acting. At the same time he was competing, he also attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, and even performed on Broadway.

As far as looks, he is the same height as Reeve, 6'4" (my have even been 6'5" in his prime), and had a very similar face to Reeve, if you compare them both around age 25-35. They both had the same Square Jaw, Cleft chin, high wide cheek bones, and straight nose that gave them roman looking faces, but Peter's nose was not as overly narrow as Reeves. They both had similar hair type too, well at least like Reeve in SM1 and SM2.

Until a few months ago, I had never heard of him, just before my time. I did some research on him after I read his name quoted from an interview with John Byrne.

I think SuperMike's choices look more like Superman depictions from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Reeve, on the other hand, looks more like modern interpretations of the character from the 80s onward. With that stated, I also agree that Reeve best personified Superman. (Sorry Mike.)

Not a lot of folks look like Reeve. With his square jaw, [tall] height, very narrow straight nose, and thin lips, he was basically a brownish haired variation of a Nordic type.

That is true, but you do realize that after Reeve was Superman many artist started incorporating his likeness into their illustrations, so that's why we all think he looks so much like superman, b/c people started drawing superman like him.

As far as looks, he is the same height as Reeve, 6'4" (my have even been 6'5" in his prime), and had a very similar face to Reeve, if you compare them both around age 25-35. They both had the same Square Jaw, Cleft chin, high wide cheek bones, and straight nose that gave them roman looking faces, but Peter's nose was not as overly narrow as Reeves. They both had similar hair type too, well at least like Reeve in SM1 and SM2.

Until a few months ago, I had never heard of him, just before my time. I did some research on him after I read his name quoted from an interview with John Byrne.

They may share certain physical traits, but I really don't see a resemblance at all. Reeve looks more Waspish (Anglo-Saxon) to me, while Lupus, by contrast, almost has a Sicilian sort of look.

Here's what Reeve looked like naturally -- outside of the Superman films. (FYI, he colored his hair jet black and sometimes wore wigs on set.)

I clearly said in his late 20’s and early 30’s. Not comparing him pushing 40.

Using one good picture of someone to make YOUR point, and then go find a bad picture of the other person.

Obviously your using a picture out of the age bracket I listed, and going specifically for a picture that does not do him justice.

Obviously in THAT picture he does not look right, but then I could find pictures of Reeve that look crappy too.

But thats not really fair either is it?

Compare someone at their best, not worst likeness.

You can dissagree with my opinion. That is fine.

I will keep it in my Signature, as it is MY Opinion.

One I do not need to justify with "good picture vs. bad picture" games.

I'm not really familiar with Lupos, so I just posted one of the first pics I could find. (He honestly doesn't look too old to me in the pic I referenced, and I wanted to show a close-up image for detail) FYI, my purpose was to exemplify that he doesn't really look like Reeve -- not Superman per se -- and it has nothing to do with his age. Complexion, hair texture, and nose width are a few factors that come to mind.

As for Reeve, I agree that he best personified the role during his twenties. He was definitely starting to look a little too old around the filming of Superman 4. In my opinion, that film really shouldn't have been made for a host of reasons.

BTW, no one is asking you to justify anything. It's merely discussion. Why is this thread even still open? I think it's run its course.

__________________“Great wits are sure to madness near allied, and thin partitions do their bounds divide.”
― John Dryden, Absalom and Achitophel

He had a great look too. Not sure if he ever had the costume on, but a great looking face for such a role had he ever been cast, he was over 6ft, and had a fantastic build.

Interestingly, when Mr.Lupus was competing it was only about 5 years after Reeve's time, he had a similar type of build. He is around 30 years old here.

Cool, i'm not familar with Lupus. Did he actually portray superman? Do you have any pictures? I would love to see what Steve Reeves would've looked like as Superman. That for me would've trump Christopher Reeve.

Also i've been watching all the superman movies over the last month. Just saw superman 4 last night, and it's not as bad as everyone says. It's acutally less campy than Superman 3. Anyway in watching Christopher Reeves portrayal of superman, especially when he was agitated or upset with luthor or taking a commanding presence his mannerisms are very much like John Schneider, the man who played clark's dad on smallville. I kid you not. Very, very similar.

FYI, my purpose was to exemplify that he doesn't really look like Reeve -- not Superman per se -- and it has nothing to do with his age. Complexion, hair texture, and nose width are a few factors that come to mind.

I see. I was not trying to say they looked exactly alike.

Here is what I think they had in common at ages 25-35: Nice eyes, wide and high cheekbones, square Jaw, Cleft chin, and the tie in of the nose and brow having a very shallow notch. That shallow brow& nose tie in from the front or side it gives the nose a very straight look, very roman looking nose. - those are the similarities I see.

Sure enough they had different hair texture, and Lupus' nose was not as narrow, and yes Lupus had a natural tan.

If you see some of the old mythic hero role clips on youtube of Lupus you will notice his hair does have more body to it than Reeve's for sure, but it does not look like in the later pics of him around the Mission Impossible era he did later.

Reeve's hair had a lot more body to it when he was younger too, it just thinned when he got older, while Lupus' did the opposite and looked more coarse later into his 40's.

Quote:

As for Reeve, I agree that he best personified the role during his twenties. He was definitely starting to look a little too old around the filming of Superman 4. In my opinion, that film really shouldn't have been made for a host of reasons.

Agree, it should not have been made. Reeve was out of shape, and had a hair peice too, I think.

I don't really mind if this thread is off-topic. It was an Arpil fools joke to start with.

These days you see things that waddle like ducks on stage with legs way too thick to walk right, and backs so wide their arms jut out at the side.

I love the classic physiques. Sure a lot of the guys had different structure, compare Reeves to Reg Park, but the proportions on the structure looked similar.

They workd toward a specific ratio then. It was not about becoming a freak, it was about having the build of a Superhero, or Greek god.

The guys were HEALTHY back then too. Many of them lived to very old ages and stayed in good health.

My fav is Pete Lupus, but then I like the taller frame with the larger joints. He had the taller version of Herculean structure.

Reeves had the Apollonian structure. Tiny waist, small joints etc...

The cool thing is they all had very good proportions.

The other intersting thing about their proportions back then, while they looked like Greek gods in trunks, they would hide in regular clothes, looking only a tad thicker than average. They did not look like Gorillas fully clothed back then.